William Franklin "Billy" Graham, Jr., KBE (born November 7, 1918) is an American evangelical Christian evangelist, ordained as a Southern Baptist minister, who rose to celebrity status in 1949
reaching a core constituency of middle-class, moderately conservative Protestants.[2] He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today.[3] In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades, which he began in 1947, until he concluded in 2005. He also hosted the popular, Hour of Decision, from 1950 to 1954, which would later be known as The Hour of Power, which was the longest-running religious show on television.
Graham was a spiritual adviser to several American presidents; he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson(who was considered to be one of Graham's closest friends)[4] and Richard Nixon.[5] He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also lifelong friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller, whom Graham talked into doing his own television ministry in Garden Grove, California in 1970, from the Neutra Sanctuary, after Schuller visited him in 1969, at an Anaheim Convention Center for one of his crusades.[6]
reaching a core constituency of middle-class, moderately conservative Protestants.[2] He held large indoor and outdoor rallies; sermons were broadcast on radio and television, some still being re-broadcast today.[3] In his six decades of television, Graham is principally known for hosting the annual Billy Graham Crusades, which he began in 1947, until he concluded in 2005. He also hosted the popular, Hour of Decision, from 1950 to 1954, which would later be known as The Hour of Power, which was the longest-running religious show on television.
Graham was a spiritual adviser to several American presidents; he was particularly close to Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson(who was considered to be one of Graham's closest friends)[4] and Richard Nixon.[5] He insisted on integration for his revivals and crusades in 1953 and invited Martin Luther King, Jr. to preach jointly at a revival in New York City in 1957. Graham bailed King out of jail in the 1960s when King was arrested in demonstrations. He was also lifelong friends with another televangelist, Robert H. Schuller, whom Graham talked into doing his own television ministry in Garden Grove, California in 1970, from the Neutra Sanctuary, after Schuller visited him in 1969, at an Anaheim Convention Center for one of his crusades.[6]
Graham operates a variety of media and publishing outlets.[7] According to his staff, more than 3.2 million people have responded to the invitation at Billy Graham Crusades to "accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior". As of 2008, Graham's estimated lifetime audience, including radio and television broadcasts, topped 2.2 billion. Because of his crusades, Graham has preached the gospel to more people in person than anyone in the history of Christianity.[7]
Graham has repeatedly been on Gallup's list of most admired men and women. He has appeared on the list 55 times since 1955 (including 49 consecutive years), more than any other individual in the world.[8] Grant Wacker reports:
- By the middle 1960s, he had become the "Great Legitimator". ...His presence conferred sanctity on events, authority on presidents, acceptability on wars, desirability on decency, [and] shame on indecency....By the middle 1970s, many deemed him "America's pastor".[2]
TBT; makes it 97 years and TBT Blog wishes him a happy birthday.
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